A recent project amazed me in its rapid flourishing and the joy it brought me and the homeowner. Planting started in early January of this year, and by May the garden was awash in butterflies, birds, and bloom, surprising and delighting us all. The homeowner was so excited that he volunteered to give me his view of our collaboration, and I gladly reprint here his words, with my picture comments:

The garden had “good bones” in the form of expertly pruned mature trees, Variegated Mock Orange and Indian Hawthorn. However, on the ground plane I replaced a tired lawn, Agapanthus and Star Jasmine with colorful, low-water use perennials, succulents and a few exotic and unfussy terrestrial bromeliads Vriesea imperialis. We added boulders for permanence and welcome texture contrast.

A Story of a Bench

“As a homeowner, I always thought that the best project outcomes occurred when there was a strong collaboration between the design professional and the homeowner. To illustrate, here’s the tale of a bench and how it came to be.

The pool was “just there”, and the surrounding planter beds were in need of fresh color.

To rebuild the old dry stream beds, we repositioned the original feather rocks and incorporated many new boulders, pebbles, and gravel with interesting forms and textures. We added many smaller grasses and “water-side” plants, to imitate a mountain stream as convincingly as possible.

As the decades rolled by, the trees became lovely and mature and, correspondingly, we became mature (80+ and counting) (but lovely would be a real stretch). Therefore, with age, we focused on landscape seniorization–how to enjoy and work in the gardens while also minimizing the risk of falls.

Much needed color invigorates the pool area and weaves throughout the garden.

One small seniorization action was to install large stone steps between a concrete walkway and a dry streambed. It gave access to the area and with the solid steps, the risk of tripping or falling was minimized.

Stone steps ended at the dry stream bed. Wouldn’t it be more satisfying to rest here in the shade of the tree, to view the garden?

Next Steps

Enter Christiane. She observed that the garden had “good bones,” meaning that the mature trees and shrubs anchored the new more modern usage of low water plants and native plant material. However, when it came to the stone steps she said, “You can’t have a walkway without a destination! It needs a bench to sit on across from the streambed.” I noted that the spot she was talking about was just beyond a major branch of the macadamia nut tree that I was likely to bump my head on and the bench would be in deep shade. I nixed the idea.

Christiane and I moved onto other elements of the design project — plant species, availability, etc.

Echeverias nestled into ever-blooming Sundrops Calylophus drummondii and ‘Pink Spice’ Pelargonium ionidiflorum. You will find these plants often in my designs; they are absolutely dependable, easy going and low-water use plants.

Weeks later, Christiane came back to the idea of a bench. She suggested that it be placed in front of the streambed, but still under the canopy of the macadamia nut tree. This time I was able to picture it–a big stone slab resting on two stone pillars that fit two people comfortably. By now I have lots of confidence in Christiane’s judgment and design strength. Also, the masonry people had done a great job building a new wall. So, let’s do it!! In goes the bench. It made the nearby birdbath look out-of-place. So, in goes a large stone birdbath in harmony with the bench.

The Basalt birdbath add to the aged look of this garden.

Fast Forward a Few Months

The stone bench and birdbath are the feature attractions of the center of the gardens. The bench is my favorite spot. One can watch the butterflies–monarchs, swallowtails, sulphurs–fluttering in the sunlight and the birds– sometimes chirping away, sometimes silent, sometimes bathing–enjoying the yard. The bench is a great place for conversations with others. It’s a great place for visitors to enjoy the gardens. A great place for memories.

Many years and much creativity went into this garden, and various people have shaped it. The bench invites to sit and contemplate its history and present beauty.

A Brunfelsia in full bloom is a stunning attraction in this entry courtyard.

Heartfelt thanks to you, Gordon; I much enjoyed working with you!

Gordon’s comments reinforce my love of helping homeowners see the strengths and weaknesses of their existing gardens, and of developing landscape design plans for their improvement, while keeping the client preferences in mind. With Gordon’s detailed involvement we found exceptional plants that bring life to “good bones” and produce enjoyment year round while keeping the upkeep to a minimum. A project like this teaches me a lot about gardens and how to make them better; it fuels my work and propels me on … to the next garden.

Don’t allow the hardscape to dominate the planting

Part 2

In my last post I endeavored to put plants in the forefront of our gardens in order to make them softer and more welcoming: Under our southern sun pavements, structures and other built structures create glare and very deep shadows. How can we reduce the harshness of this bright white light in residential landscape design?

I think the primordial quality of a well-designed garden is its ability to let our eyes and minds rest. To that effect, I want to employ shade, light-absorbing textures, coolness, perhaps even the sound of water. I try to balance out the hard structures with drought resistant landscaping and let the plants play an equal if not greater role in the organization and feel of the design. Here are a few tricks how to employ plants to that effect:

This entrance area can be extremely bright, but Redbuds and oaks add a “roof” to the approaching visitor and create shade.

No massive gate columns here: The framing of this garden entrance is done by the swollen trunks of Floss Silk Tree Ceiba insignia, which also provides shade; the young mimosa in the island has a very soft light-absorbing deep green foliage and will create a wonderful welcoming coolness.

Even in full none-day sun, someone sitting on that bench would be able to admire the cool blue of this beautiful Potato Bush.

Here, a low water and low maintenance clumping grass reflects light like an animal’s fur, and the shade of the shrubs beyond is in contrast to the bright patio on the right.

A boulder echoes the horizontal line of the eaves, while grasses repeat the vertical lines of the window frame.

Plants have many roles: They create the visual pleasure that changes through the seasons because of the seasonal bloom, and they offer a juxtaposition of delicate textures with the outlines of strict architecture or rugged boulders. Plants can repeat the dynamic contrast between horizontal and vertical lines already present in the architecture of a house. Leaning pine branches intersect with vertical grass blades, while vertical flower stems stand at a right angle to a boulder’s edge.

These dark bromeliads provide contrast to the lightness of the house’s walls, strappy irises play off of the low horizontal stone wall, and palms throw their interesting shadows on the walls.

Although many “hardscape elements” are used here, plants scale down their proportions and make them soften until they almost disappear. Plants are employed to edge this stone path, and instead of an umbrella or arbor, the tree canopy on the left shelters a bench.

While the stone and wood create light and dark structure, plants soften the overall effect. Even the light-colored pavers are more inviting when edged in grass.

Here, the stone flower beds will start to look less heavy when the vines start to take over the arbor and the perennials and shrubs gain their mature height, cascading over the sides to soften them. While distinctly dividing the side of the house into different areas, each area becomes its own secret garden.

Plants create suspense: Where is the path leading? Your eye bounces down the path from the Aloe to the pink flowering Rock Purslane to the yellow Mexican Marigold. They thus create the illusion of a larger yard.

A minimal structure for vines will soon create much-needed shade, while all around plants absorb some of the light. The purple-flowered tree is a Jacaranda; the white shrub on the left is Iceberg Rose.

Soon, the three Podocarpus trees along the back wall will be tall enough to screen out the neighbor’s house and all boundaries will be obscured, thus creating total privacy in a natural setting.

Plants help to separate this sitting area from the entrance and to make if feel more private.

This design also creates the illusion of distance, giving the front yard a larger feel. The small deciduous shrub will provide more shade and privacy as it matures, and give an excellent opportunity to use creative landscape lighting to add drama at night by revealing its beautiful branch structure.

Instead of walls and doors, planter pockets serve to break up the pavement and to separate one usable area from another.

Getting away from hardscapes is a challenge; there are sexy materials that don’t need watering or maintenance, and will last close to forever. Stone, wood, glass, metal, and even fiberglass or plastic are very versatile and lend themselves to a variety of different uses. Be it fencing or furniture, these materials can help us give places to ‘hang’ our plants, much like in a big wardrobe.

Many landscape architects and landscape designers in San Diego (and elsewhere) have been trained to use these materials as the back-bones and foundations to build around – and upon – with plants in secondary filler roles. But plants can also serve this purpose; let yourself fall in love with the texture and structure of a plant, or your favorite tree, or a color, and design around that.

Tell your designer that this is the plant you want to showcase or use. Say you want a great big hedge of something to serve as a fence. Think about using our native Toyon Heteromeles arbutifolia, or a Silverberry Eleagnus pungens. Both are tough shrubs with attractive foliage, colorful berries (Toyon) and fragrant flowers (Silverberry) that are very undemanding in soil, water or light and that can be sheered, pruned or trained into small trees or an evergreen screen. If you prefer beautiful craftsmanship, think about how a simple perfect circle carved from stone, laid in brick, or made of wood can’t help but stand out best when surrounded by the chaos and asymmetry of plants.

Right now is a great time to look for California natives, drought-tolerant succulents and waterwise perennials, shrubs and trees at your local nurseries!

I believe this is a topic that will interest many gardeners, and I’ll talk about it in greater detail and colorful examples in a presentation at the Water Conservation Garden in El Cajon on June 11, at 9:30 a.m., in a class entitled “Balancing hardscapes with plants”. Look for a detailed description in the coming weeks at the Garden’s website. I’d be happy to greet you there!

When leafing through a landscape trade magazine recently, I noticed how much emphasis was placed on the “hard stuff”: Large patios and terraces paved with interlocking pavers and seat-walls around them in either stone or concrete block; sweeping staircases, luxurious zero-edge pools, massive built-in outdoor kitchens with the latest in outdoor cooking technology…

Obviously, the homeowners had invested a small fortune into their landscape and I imagined them rightly proud of their yard improvements.

Yet it struck me how little inviting I found these spaces; the hardscape seemed to overwhelm the warmth of nature, which had been defeated.

Hardscapes such as these create a wholly uninspired landscape

Clarification: The layout and organization of a garden into ‘rooms’, or the ‘bones’ of a successful garden, is tantamount, but NOT dependent on hardscaping.

When I ask my clients to describe their home landscape design goals, one of the first things they mention is their dream of beautiful, lush plants that draw them out into the garden; they blame the garden’s unattractiveness on the lack of beautiful plants, and this may be quite true!

But I usually respond by pointing to other facts that make their garden uninviting: It is in most cases the poor organization of their spaces that doesn’t allow for smooth circulation. There may not be sufficient room for a comfortable dining table and a clear, logical way to serve food here…perhaps there’s no shade for the homeowner who wants to spend time outside without being roasted.

Frequently also, there’s not enough privacy for a family that likes to take their breakfast or dinner outside, in their PJs or swim wear (or naked, God forbid!)

All corners and edges!

So I do pay much attention to the layout of a garden and devise outdoor spaces that can be used in comfort, preferably with the most beautiful materials. However, while hardscaping can be used in all aforementioned circumstances, so can “plantscaping”.

Plants should be used more often to solve these problems. I begin envisioning their garden coming to life with plants, color, textures; I see the wildlife drawn by them and begin feeling the mood of the garden.

This is an example of an oversized pool deck almost devoid of plants and atmosphere.

And I know that these plants will be substantially more than ‘the icing on the cake,’ but will also serve to organize the garden.

Many hard surfaces in play with an interesting variety of drought tolerant plants.

I can think of several groundbreaking ideas in the last 50 or so years that shook the gardening and design world. They called for a new, sustainable appreciation of plants and their function in our gardens.

They use such words as “enchantment”, “romance”, and “plant personalities”…and they describe the variety of their sculptural, dramatic, and attention-getting forms that we should consider in our designs and substitute for hardscaping.

Also, it is important that we consider plants at the very beginning of the design process, so that their softness and drama can be the leading elements of the design, and let the hardscaping once again provide a supporting role.

Hedges can be clipped into formal green ‘walls’ to delineate areas, provide privacy, or simply act as a backdrop. Trees with interesting shapes can give not only shade but supply the columns where we need strong vertical movement.

Trellises covered with vines can also provide privacy or decoration, and plants of different structures, textures, sizes, and colors can let the eye bounce around, lead it through a garden, and provide interest and momentum.

Hardscaping then is scaled back to its more appropriate role, and plants can once again frame a scene or blur boundaries with nature.

Grasses glow and sway in the wind while the pine breaks up the vertical wall of the house.

Numerous books and beautiful articles have been written about landscapes that make you dream and want to be in them.

Some advice that I’ve learned is to allow for change and growth in plants as well as in people’s responses, and to avoid creating “landscapes that demand that their plants stay in near suspended animation to fulfill the designer’s vision (and impose an unrealistic burden on their owners for upkeep)”. Let’s remind ourselves instead that, “At its heart a garden is a relationship, an ongoing dialog between people, plants and the place in which they both live and grow.” It is this relation with them that builds a garden.

A landscape design that is inviting and romantic, secret and enticing. The plants are numerous and varied; they lead the eye around the landscape; the tree overhead frames the view and provides shade, and the fence is light and unobtrusive.

In my next post, I’ll give a few examples of the power of plants and examine how they can be used where we traditionally imagine hardscapes:

How big a pool deck do you really need?

How do you create boundaries or privacy with plants if not with walls and fences?

Will you need a retaining wall, or could plants do a better job?

These are some of the questions I look forward to examining, to help you create balance in your home landscape design.

For me as a landscape designer placing shrubs in a design is as natural as adding sweetener to my desserts; I’m so sure of their benefits (shrubs, that is) that I never think much about them. However, they have, perhaps the most important place in a home landscape design, and a recent visit at the Water Conservation Garden in El Cajon where many spectacular specimens were in bloom, made me realize how effective shrubs are in any landscape, and so I thought I’d investigate their role.

Foundation plantings can easily take on a very static look

Foundation Plantings

We all know the old standards in our traditional gardens, the Indian Hawthorns or Mock Oranges placed along the base of houses and therefore called “foundation” shrubs. Those gardeners practicing a more low-water and water-wise landscape style might think of Bird of Paradise, or New Zealand Tea Trees (a bush despite of its name) or perhaps Butterfly Bush; other people who have not yet gotten used to our dry climate prize their favorite (when it’s in bloom), the Lilac or the Hydrangea.

These are mostly large bushes with showy flowers, oftentimes pruned to fit the space… As their place was poorly chosen at planting the homeowner ends up fighting the eternal fight and pruning it into unnatural shapes and blobs. Bothered by these maintenance chores, one might not consider the benefits that these very special plants bring to our gardens nor the amazing multitude of size, texture and form we enjoy here in southern California.

The architectural role of shrubs

The most important aspect perhaps is going to be visible in our ‘slow’ months of July and August: It’s so hot and the sunshine so intense that many plants go into summer rest (“estivation” which is the equivalent of winter dormancy. Our California natives are particularly adept at it). Now even drought resistant plants used to our “Mediterranean” climate because of similar origin (such as Daylilies, Lavender Cotton, Iris and Beard’s Tongue or Pelargonium… ) are done with their first cycle of bloom and go into a waiting period until the night temperatures drop and the days get shorter, in mid September or thereabouts.

A limbed-up Coral tree “knits” the perennials below it together

Accent and cohesion

Now imagine a planter bed filled with these small and mid-sized perennials, even succulents and grasses, and notice how “flat” it looks during these months and how little interest there is in such a planting; all is more or less of the same height and “weight” and nothing provides a resting place for the eyes.

However, add a few bushes in the right places, and all of a sudden the scene comes to life: These taller plants provide an anchor and accent, an organizing feature, one that holds the scene together. And while all other smaller plants can put on a great show and are continuously changing, a well placed shrub can give great strength and permanence to this scene.

‘Gold Sunset’ Pink Breath of Heaven with its spreading, reaching form contrasts with the perennial grasses behind

Organization & structure

Place a well-chosen shrub in the background, perhaps spreading like a sheltering umbrella over your soft perennials, and your planter bed will instantly gain organization and structure. Now add to this colorful berries that persist on the shrub, such as Cotoneaster or Toyon, and the visual interest of this planter bed will last perhaps even into the next spring.

This “outdoor home” has it all: Outdoor living areas; complete privacy and lush plantings.

The backyardwas redesigned as intimate “outdoor home” with several usable spaces, inviting privacy, color and and interesting textures. Its muted tones, the weathered-looking hardscape materials and a colorful xeriscape design give this garden a beautiful matured feeling.

The garden achieved a 2013 “Gardens of the Year” award bestowed by San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles magazine. (Read “On Key”, by Eva Ditler; with photos by Martin Mann).

(Before)

The existing backyard landscape design had an impractical layout: A planter bed chopped up the main patio, and the oversized pool deck left no room for plants that would give this garden life and interest.

The goal of the landscape renovation was the creation of several distinct use areas, in style and design harmonizing with the textures and colors of the contemporary California home; plants would be colorful, unfussy and low in their water needs.

This project was a great opportunity to balance the hardscape materials with the plant-scape while applying a modern design palette to the overall composition, always pursuing the idea of weathering and maturity.

The pool and spa look like a modern lagoon, adding to the feeling of peace and tranquility.

Besides being a fun retreat, this hammock allows viewing the garden from a different angle.

A double layer of pale green sails provides cool shade to a new dining and lounging area.
The layout and blend of the materials harmonize well with the tones and architecture of the residence: Matte concrete, rusted planters, mottled copper, faded wood and living bamboo.

The old cluttered garden was turned in a sunny, dynamic yet restful ‘outdoor home’, organized to allow for entertainment, relaxation and play.
Despite the many built elements such as pavement, steel edging, naturally rusted planters and light troughs, the hardscapes do not overwhelm the garden.

The original overgrown tropical plants were replaced with subtropical low maintenance plants, in the owner’s preferred color palette of chartreuse, black-purple, and pink or yellow/orange: Dark Forest Pansy Redbud and “Ti Ruby” Cordyline; magenta Rock Purslane and golden Kangaroo Paw; also pink Echeveria to which Carex Evergold and Aechmea blanchetiana provide the yellow and orange contrast.
These are mostly drought resistant plants that provide a long-lived, elegant plant scheme whose interest is kept alive through their colorful foliage that will keep its strong presence in the garden throughout the seasons.

One of the landscape lighting ideas was to fill steel troughs with lava rock and place them strategically within the garden to act as beacons in the night and to prolong the outdoor entertainment after nightfall.

The steel fountain is a serene visual and audible treat.

Halfway through the installation, the construction of an over-sized home in the neighbor’s yard was a big concern.

We resolved the challenge with a Black Timor Bamboo hedge that creates an intimate space and helps re-direct the eye inwards to vivid plantings and a synergy of all materials employed. It’s exciting to see how the black Bamboo stems echo the dark pavement in a wonderful contrast to the surrounding green foliage.This San Diego Landscape design is a joy to live in.

4. Draw up a plan for your home landscape design (or get professional landscape design help)

Taking in all the clues from Rachel’s interior design, the architecture of her house and her preferred color palette a picture was quickly emerging in my mind:

I pictured a low waterlandscape breathing peace and beauty, brimming with color and plant life. The garden would be laid out around two main paved areas reminiscent of Spanish/Mexican courtyards.

Benches would offer seating to take a drink or finger food, to enjoy the many colors or to feel the comfortable atmosphere and peaceful mood of the garden.

One area would invite more for quiet sitting and contemplation of a fountain ;

The other area, closest to Rachel’s kitchen, would be the main food serving area. Here two benches would form a square for people to mingle, with room for side tables that Rachel could bring in if she had more trays than she wanted to place directly on the benches.

A walkway would be connecting these spaces, and their layout would be following the shape of the house (its walls were slightly curved outwards); the new pavement would be placed directly adjacent to the existing patio to allow people comfortable access to all areas of the garden.

Doing this suggested either a similar or a completely different pavement…

The benches would allow me to introduce more colors into the garden: They would be in complementary colors to each other, to the perimeter walls that I’d also paint, and to an additional, purely ornamental wall that I would use as “room divider”, “weight” and upright element in the garden.

This wall, in the shape of an undulating wave, would complement and contrast a water feature that would be the focal point of the quieter sitting area.

5. Remove what’s not needed; and put all ingredients together:

Rachel was very excited about the first draft of this backyard landscape design and approved all of it.

She was most thrilled about the idea of applying paint to all of the walls, the perimeter wall included.

And she loved the fountain idea which consisted of two stone slabs, mounted one on top of the other at differing angles, with a central core from which water would run over both stones.

For the new pavement we opted for grey concrete with an acid wash finish (which brings out the sand aggregate in the mix). This seemed the most elegant and cost-effective material that would harmonize with the existing grey concrete. (In the photo outlines of the future design elements are drawn onto the ground to help fine-tune their shape and dimensions, and to help the homeowner visualize the future look of the garden. It also shows how all plants have been removed except for the fruit trees and the Pine Tree in the opposite corner.)

And so the final design came together very quickly. After a soil test we chose a mix of some “Southwestern” plants with some other ones that like it here in Leucadia, too: Rock Purslane Calandrinia spectabilis, Aloe ‘Red Hot Chili Pepper’, Red Yucca Hesperaloe parviflora, Aeonium ‘Cabernet’ and Crassula ‘Campfire, to name a few’; more drought resistant plants such as Sundrops Calylophus drummondii and Penstemon Margarita BoP; the “bones” and structure of this low water landscape would be provided by the shrubs ‘Goldstar’ Yellow Bells Tecoma stans stans ‘Goldstar’ and Dwarf Variegated Myrtle Myrtus communis variegata compacta, to which Rachel added a favorite of hers, a Yellow Mexican Bird of Paradise Caesalpinia gilliesii. We placed another shade tree to shade the reading nook (Crape Myrtle “Centennial Spirit” Lagerstroemia x hybrids), over at the other end of the garden; its orange-red color will be a nice color teaser when in bloom. Ornamental grasses add a light and airy, even dreamy character to the plantings. Here we used Hairy Awn Mulhly Muhlenbergia capillaris, Golden Variegated Sweet Flag Acorus gramineus ‘Ogon’, and Blue Oat Grass Helictotrichon sempervirens.

Purple Bougainvilleas drape a post-and-wire-trellis in two critical places to raise the privacy screen around the perimeter but leave a window to view the ocean.

To the colors of the plants those of the walls would be a permanent contrast, stimulus and harmonious “compliment” . We chose Orange for the perimeter wall; “Violet Majesty” purple for the seatwalls; and Chartreuse/lime for the curved wall across from the fountain.

6. Enjoy!

Sitting in the sun with Rachel recently on one of the colorful benches, and enjoying a sweet breakfast Danish (a “prop” left-over from staging her garden for the photo shoot), she remarked on how much she loves her garden now, and how she marvels at discovering, every morning when she comes outside to visit it, another plant in bloom or just colorful on its own.

At that moment a bee was visiting a rock purslane flower right behind her shoulder, and as I was pointing the bee out to her she hardly moved away and said she loved how so many of them are now visiting her garden. This is what she had dreamt of, and she’s learning to take care of the plants and delight in them any moment she can.

Everything about the location of their new home appealed to Ara and Diego: Conveniently located at a comfortable driving distance to schools, work (both work in medical research at a local university), shopping and cultural events of San Diego, and located in a quiet residential neighborhood, it offered a magnificent view of San Diego Bay, right from their back patio. It had a good-sized landscape with many fruit trees and room for Diego’s exotics collection; it even had a pool and large play lawns for the couple’s three children.

The home’s architecture and layout however left a lot to be desired: The 70’s style red tile roof of this Perceived-Spanish fantasy weighed heavily on it; chopped-up rooms and lack of windows and doors were not taking advantage of one of the most prized attributes to Southern California lifestyle: Our brilliant skies and mild temperatures inviting “inside-out living” spaces that blend seamlessly together. Ara and Diego dreamt of taking advantage of all as much as possible; with their love of contemporary and mid-century modern art and architecture they decided on a radical transformation of their new home. The changes would not stop at the home itself; picket fence, spindly palm trees and neatly hedged shrubs did not fit into their aesthetics either nor into their sense of sustainability.

One of the first things they decided on was to lift off the heavy roof, revealing the clean horizontal lines of a modernist bungalow, and refreshing the exterior with a white smooth “Santa Barbara” stucco. On the inside, rooms were enlarged, and in the center a large community space created that floats seamlessly from living to dining to living space. The old entry hall was removed and replaced by a courtyard that is open to the front yard; a room addition created a U-shaped patio in the back yard. Here a warm, barefoot-friendly Ipe deck is a continuation of the wood flooring indoors and invites as much living outdoors as possible, facilitated by sliding doors that connect every room with the outside.

Ara’s and Diego’s creative passions didn’t stop at the house : They were interested in landscape design help that would complement and soften the crisp edges of the home’s modernist design; it needed also to reflect the couple’s artwork and accommodate their active lifestyle. The new landscape design should work with the dry California climate as a low water landscape; it should only require a modicum of maintenance, and it also needed to incorporate Diego’s exotic collection of cacti and succulents.

As we were brainstorming possible landscape design ideas, we agreed that the lawns had an essential place in the landscape as much-used play areas for the couple’s children and their friends. Both the back yard landscape design as well as the front yard are designed around the children’s activities.

The entrance patio, right next to the garage and the driveway, was a bit too open to the public; we wanted it to be off-set without employing a heavy screen. The pavement here consisted of a beautiful travertine tile into which we cut out a row of tiles, just between it and the driveway. Here we placed a couple of naturally rusted steel troughs that “enclosed” the patio and created a visual although very low separation between the two. More a suggestion rather than an actual screen, a lacy curtain of horsetail reeds creates greater privacy for this courtyard that is open to the public yet can’t easily be scrutinized by passersby.

Decorating the wall across from the breakfast room we mounted a red metal sculpture fabricated after Ara’s and Diego’s design. It decorates a fountain trough made also of steel left to rust naturally. (The fountain is presently under repair, and the trough not filled.)

The old access to the side yard was re-designed; a good-looking Ipe fence picks up the material used in the back yard for the deck extension and inside the home for the flooring.

Diego had already started a substantial collection of fantastic cacti such as Cleistocactus and Cereus monstrosus; also Foxtail Agaves, Aloes and a giant Euphorbia canariensis; some of them had been salvaged from his previous home. They all found their new home in this xeriscape San Diego and are a much better aesthetical fit for the home’s architectural style than the clipped shrubs and fence of the former landscape. Some of them act as their own dramatic pieces of art and have prominent places in the landscape (here across from the red metal courtyard sculpture).

A local gravel called ‘Palm Springs Gold’ serves as mulch and adds a textural element. It is also a clean foil against which the colors and textures of these plants stand out. It evokes a desert scape in which succulents are used in great numbers together with long-flowering and lasting perennials and other drought resistant plants.

More from common sense and the desire for sustainability than aesthetics, the existing pool and part of the previous deck (bordering the new Ipe deck) were integrated into the new landscape and allow a smooth access from house to pool, play lawn and garden.

When the weather is warm which is around 300 days a year, the family keeps the windows and sliding doors to this terrace open.

What an exciting project this was, and how satisfying. To me as landscape designer San Diego it reflects a new “California Mix”: A definite aesthetic sense influencing the design of home and garden without ever imposing a purist’s approach; a strong desire for a sustainable landscape design that honors the style of the owners while acknowledging the needs of the family and the environment.

Whenever I see the shade sails in this garden, I have the sensation of floating through the landscape, as though the patio was a ship sailing past islands of colorful plants and fun activities. I also think of comfort; activities beneath these sails are protected from drizzle, fog and sunshine without being weighed down by heavy beams.

CASE STUDY IN LA JOLLA

In the above backyard landscape design, the installer designed a combination of 2 super-imposed sails made to specs from sun-rated HDPE (high density polyethylene) fire rated shade fabric, sage green, both in a triangle shape. After determining the specific angle that was needed to block out the noon sun, one sail tip was attached with a strong stainless steel cable to the 1st story façade of the L-shaped house; a second point of attachment is on the roof of the lower arm of the L, where the actual anchoring was achieved by attaching to the roof beams. The 3rd sail tip is attached to a steel post with a 4’-6” foot-deep base set in concrete that is hidden among the bamboo culms. Together both shade sails are very efficient at blocking the sun of the dining area, and their swooping outlines impart motion and energy to the landscape.

These sails can also be mounted vertically to block out a bad view; in this project the sails served to screen out the neighbor’s house that was looming behind the fence.

In cases where there is no house or roof to attach the sails to, free-standing posts are planted to which the sails are attached.

DETERMINING SHADE AND EFFICIENCY

The shade sails above were tested in a mock-up prior to installation. Other methods include “shade auditing” and shadow mapping.

PRODUCT QUALITYEvery component of a shade sail is designed to stand up to the rigors of day in–day out exposure to the sun. Many shade sails also have an up to 10 year manufacturer’s warranty against UV degradation.

DESIGN

As landscape designer San Diego, I love the contemporary character of these structures, their playful and even elegant forms and subtle colors. They make for an artistic statement, be it in a Mediterranean landscape, an eclectic “California mix”, or the landscape design adorning a modern home.

Since the sails can be mounted on roofs, façades or free-standing posts not planted in a fixed square or rectangle, I enjoy the artistic freedom that this allows my residential landscape design; these free-form shapes can totally transform a bland landscape into an architectural showpiece.

How a homeowner with an artist’s love of beautiful details and a receptive landscape designer found synergy and fertile ground in the garden for a beautiful backyard landscape collaboration.

A couple of years after installation, this garden has matured beautifully. I cherish the artistic collaboration with my clients; it contributes to very personalized and satisfying designs. In this project, the teamwork was particularly fruitful, as Melissa F., entrepreneur, artist and singer/song-writer, contributed an immense flow of creative ideas and suggestions. The result is a garden that is beautiful and incredibly peaceful.

Melissa calls it her ‘outdoor home’ because it’s all here: living room, kitchen, sitting room and lounge, and vivid plantings that make all come to life.

The previous backyard landscape design consisted of an uninspiring courtyard that a planter bed set in the middle made user-unfriendly.

Melissa and Todor love to cook and entertain outside. To blend the outdoor kitchen seamlessly, we used bamboo facing, echoing the indoor flooring and the living bamboo hedge. Now, under the cool shade sails, the outdoor dining area feels like it has always been there.

For each material selection we explored the idea of “weathering”, inspired by the mottled copper caps on eaves and fence posts and the home’s faded wood siding. The naturally rusted steel used for edging, planting troughs, fountain and gas lights provides that patina; matte concrete and exposed beach pebbles continue the theme.

Organized to allow for entertainment, relaxation and play, the garden creates a dynamic and sunny ‘outdoor home’ where plants add color, life and interest and prevent the built elements from overpowering the garden.

The bamboo hedge is a beautiful response to the construction of an oversized home in the neighbor’s yard that threatened the privacy and intimacy of this garden. The hedge helps focus the eye on the interior and defines the boundary of this backyard. It’s exciting to see how the black Bamboo stems echo the dark pavement in a wonderful contrast to the surrounding green foliage.

Most of the original overgrown “tropical” plants were removed and replaced with low maintenance plants, many of them from the sub-tropics. This xeriscape landscaping was composed in colors of Melissa’s preferred color palette:

Forest Pansy Redbud, bronze Sedge and golden Kangaroo Paw, purplish Echeveria and in-ground Bromeliad with striking foliage. A few splashes of orange and red add highlights to the picture.

One of the landscape lighting ideas was to use steel “fire” troughs. They provide light, warmth and entertainment after nightfall. While their mottled rusty walls continue the theme of weathering, they also tie the different spaces together.

The steel fountain complements the materials used in the landscape and has a calming effect on all senses.

If synergy is “the ability of a group to outperform even its best individual member”, then this residential landscape design is a beautiful example of how two creative individuals with their own aesthetics found common ground in the garden and created a product that will satisfy its owners for years to come. (Landscape designer San Diego Christiane Holmquist).

One of my very first backyard landscape design projects was a small urban backyard renovation where the homeowners were tired of lawn and old shrubs. Ryan and Jill were dreaming of a much more peaceful, enchanting scene and asked me to design a pond that they could view from their deck.

The sound of water running in a small creek from a small rocky “outcropping” and mound in a far corner of the garden into the pond, and a dense leafy screen surrounding the garden would make the backyard very private and block out most of the city noises.

The design was installed some 8 years ago, and I recently went back to visit and to see how pond, fish and homeowners were doing.

I did arrive with some trepidations: My original choice of screening trees had not been the happiest: The Brazilian Tipuana tipu is a beautiful tree with lacey foliage and a wide, umbrella-like crown. It fits well into a low water landscape, is ‘green’ through our Southern California winter but starts shedding its foliage when most other deciduous trees have leafed out already. This takes several weeks until, in early summer, it bursts into the prettiest bloom of orange-yellow Sweet Pea-like flowers. Besides the leave drop problem I had expected that the trees in this xeriscape design would crowd each other out eventually, and I was expecting that the homeowner might regret that selection.

I was thrilled to see a scene not much changed since the garden had been installed: The creek was still running to the pond, providing needed oxygen and delighting us with its gurgling and bubbling sounds. Some twelve smallish Koi were busily milling close to the deck as the evening was approaching, to receive their daily feeding. The peaceful mood was still there as were the trees, although the homeowner said he would remove them soon because he intended to install solar panels on his roof. To my relief he said that he had loved their look and therefore didn’t mind the extra maintenance. I asked him about his maintenance program, and he explained that he adds a biological clarifier on a weekly basis, and an algaecide as needed (both are biological controls). He also uses a skimmer and filter cloth, hidden under a fake rock, that get cleaned weekly (except during heavy drop like the Tipus drop their leaves); then there’s a biofall (where the waterfall starts) in another plastic box that has the same filter mesh at the bottom and 2 mesh bags of rock. The leaves and petals are not too bad, he says – even when the wind has blown an extra load of petals into the water.

What about “visitors”? He has created some hollow spaces at the bottom of the pond under several overturned clay tiles where the fish hide when an occasional heron or egret comes to visit. Raccoons merely push a few of the smaller rocks around in their attempt to catch a Koi, but always give up – they don’t like the deep in the middle of the pond where the fish hide.

Over the years Ryan and Jill have enjoyed their water feature that always entertains them with a lively yet peaceful scenery: There are rocks and boulders, rushes and grasses at the water’s edge, and there’s the cherished Pineapple Guava that has grown into a graceful large shrub, on the other side of the pond.

There’s the play of sunlight on the water’s surface and the steady darting of dragon flies or other beneficial insects that land on blades and pads of Iris and Water Lilies. Birds of course come to the water’s edge to bathe and drink as well as other critters. Visitors come to stay, such as frogs, others wonder out again, such as the occasional raccoon.. There’s the comfortable chair across from the deck inviting to sit and watch the activities at the pond from a different angle, especially the perennial glint and splash of the Koi fish. There are lots of babies at this time – they are the babies that hatched in early summer of last year.

I’m not an expert in pond building or maintenance, so here’s a quick overview (and I don’t claim completeness):

The prominent ingredients of a fish pond are water, plants, fish, snails, soil, light, temperature – and time. After all the ingredients have been put together, it takes time for all to balance out and grow into a clear pond.

Algae, while they are unsightly, may not necessarily be unhealthy; they can make the water appear brownish or green, or grow as fine threads or moss-like coverings on shells, snails, walls and stones. Small fish can feed on some of these algae… Threadlike algae are often associated with crystal clear water and are evidence of the oxygen-generating ability of algae. A lot of things feed plants, algae and fish: Food that we give the fish; foliage that drops into the water and decays; and the waste that fish produce.

Adding aquatic plants to a pond not only increases its visual appeal and natural look; floaters such as Water Hyacinth , marginals such as Water Iris , and Water Lilies help reduce algae as they feed on nutrients or block out sunlight – both will starve the algae. Shading the water with leaves keeps the water cooler which is desirable. Chemical control may also be used if necessary, however great care must be taken to select chemicals safe for fish and plant life. As the pond matures, the need for chemicals should diminish. Keeping decomposing material in the water to a minimum will also lower the nutrients in the water, less food will then be available for the algae to feed upon. Prune off old leaves and skim the surface for fallen leaves.

The pH of the water can also affect pond balance, and there are formulas suggested to help achieve it. Also, you can determine the most balanced amount of fish and plants for your pond by calculating the water’s volume and surface area.

I’m not an expert in pond matters; I’d rather refer to an ‘ocean’ of information and helpful videos online… You can contact the local chapter of the California Landscape Contractors Association to refer you to a San Diego landscaper experienced in pond building.

And mosquitoes?

Did you know that fish eat mosquito larvae and that mosquitoes don’t like moving water? Keeping your water moving and cleaning off debris regularly that provides hiding places for mosquitoes is a good recipe to control mosquitoes.

What not to love about a pond! I myself have one, as part of my front yard landscape design, by my front door. I watch it from my living room window, and although its location isn’t perfect either (the previous owners must have decided to live with the maintenance; they created the pond at the edge of an oak canopy), it’s a most cherished delight of my garden.

"Christiane, your design is beautiful. Viewers love the design and color. Thank you so much for all your support while the project was being developed. It would have been more stressful for me had you not held my hand regularly.”